The world bank group member International Finance Corp (IFC) signed the master cooperation agreement with India's Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) to help provide funding for renewable energy projects.

This cooperation will allow the IFC to normalize the process of lending money for projects like this in the future. "The ultimate aim is to make local currency financing available in shorter time frames and reduce financing costs for lenders and borrowers" IFC said in a press release.

IREEDA will use this partnership to finance projects that will create 175 gigawatts of renewable energy over the next seven years.

This new partnership hopes to be able to provide speedy funding to renewable energy projects across India and be an example for other international organizations.

Do you think that the IFC is providing a good example for other international organizations to follow or should governments be taking a stronger stance in funding their own national renewable energy project?

The renwable energy market has made substantial gains recently. The Energy Information Administration has released data that shows that energy producing companies are adding 20 gigawatts of electric capacity. Of this new capacity 68% will be from renewable sources of energy.

Renewable energy isn't just supplying more energy, but its investments worldwide have also increased significantly. The United Nations Environment Program reported that since 2013 global investment in Renewable Energy has risen 17%. This past year saw the worldwide investment jump to $270 billion. The report also stated that for the first time carbon-free energy producing installations surpassed 100,000 megawatts of capacity.

Solar and Wind were the two renewable sources of energy that saw the largest investments. In Japan and China $75 billion went into solar power alone. In the first quarter of 2015 China added five gigawatts of solar capacity. This brings China's total energy supplied by solar energy 33 gigawatts.

This increase of renewable energy is mirrored by the reduction of the cost for renewable energy. In 1970 the cost of solar panels per watt was $150, now the price is $0.60 per watt. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency solar panel prices have dropped 75% since 2009. In the United States the average cost of generating solar energy is $130 per megawatt hour. This contrasts favorable when compared to the $147 per megawatt hour that coal requires.

So based off of this information, do you think that Renewable Energy's growth is a sign that the world is switching off of harmful carbon emitting energy sources?

Tuesday Popular Science reported that Brazil is to build a massive solar farm that will float on the surface of a reservoir. As the entire solar energy industry is rapidly growing, a new wave of innovative floating solar farms has grown in popularity as well. The new far in Brazil will produce 350 megawatts of electricity, topping the current largest floating solar plant in the world. That plant is in Japan and has a capacity of 13.4 megawatts. The average output of a coal power plant in the United State is roughly 240 megawatts. “A single megawatt can power 164 homes in the United States,” reports Popular Science. That means the new floating solar farm in Brazil would be able to provide enough energy to power 57,400 average sized homes if it were located in the U.S.

NATO has announced the commencement of efforts to employ renewable energy sources into common military practice. As a safer and less volatile form of fueling massive armies, renewables make logical sense to replace traditional fuel sources needed to power military operations. In transporting traditional fuel, not only does it waste more fuel, it endangers the lives of the convoys transporting. When these troops get caught transporting the volatile source of fuel along vulnerable supply lines, a few well-placed bullets would cause an explosion that would not only kill or injure a large number of soldiers escorting the power source, but waste all of the fuel in a fire that cannot be extinguished. On the other hand, NATO experts point out that a crew transporting solar panels in the same manner may lose a few panels due to ricochet or misfire, but the bulk of their source is still in tact and functioning when it arrives at its final destination. “Along with deploying solar, wind and biomass for power generation at permanent bases, the U.S. Department of Defense is using smaller-scale renewables like solar-powered battery chargers to cut weight and enhance the mobility of its troops, according to Mark Wright, a spokesman for the department in Washington” (renewableenergyworld.com).Starting shortly, NATO soldiers will begin testing the practicality of using renewables in the field of combat: “NATO soldiers will conduct war-game scenarios that simulate power cuts, flooded roads and diesel and water contamination using three airdrops of “smart energy” equipment at the camp in June, according to a NATO presentation provided to Bloomberg” (renewableenergyworld.com). Assuming all goes well with the upcoming tests, militaries purchasing large quantities of renewables will become an enormous marketing demographic to renewable producers and lead to development in new technology. Investments will flow into this field assuming military technologies can operate on renewables and demand for renewables will soar.

Mexico has announced a “landmark” climate target, making it the first developing country to present a formal pledge under the UN climate process.As part of its proposal, the country promised that its emissions of greenhouse gases will peak by 2026 and then begin to decline. The government has said the plan would mean that, by 2030, emissions will be 22% lower than business-as-usual projections.Mexico’s pledges is a major milestone on the road to Paris, where governments are expected to meet at the end of the year to agree a new comprehensive deal on tackling the climate crisis.In Lima last December, countries agreed that those ready to do so should declare their national contributions to this pact – known as their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions by 31 March.Hitting the target will mean sharply raising fuel efficiency, and Mexico has also set goals for increasing the share of renewable and nuclear energy in its power sector.The targets are unconditional, which means the country will not required financial support from developed countries to meet its goals.The government has said it could still raise its 2030 greenhouse gas reduction target to 36% if it gained access to climate funds and technology or if a global carbon price was put in place.The pledge has been welcomed both inside the country and globally.President Felipe Calderon, Chair of the Global Commission on the Economy and the Climate and former President of Mexico on the Mexican commitment said:¨We welcome this announcement and the fact that Mexico is the first major emerging economy to declare its commitment to a low-carbon future. This is an example for other countries, including developed countries, to follow.¨After the targets were unveiled, President Enrique Pena Nieto announced a new joint climate policy task force with US President, Barack Obama, aimed at further deepening “policy and regulatory coordination” in areas such as vehicle fuel efficiency, appliance standards and electricity grid modernisation.The White House praised Mexico for being the first major emerging economy to submit its national plan.The move has also been welcomed by US green groups.“While the devil is in the details, Mexico’s plan to peak its emissions by 2026 is particularly encouraging and should inspire others to follow a similar course,” said Jennifer Morgan, global director of the World Resources Institute’s climate program.